


Reformed Guardian

by mygalaxyeyes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Crosstale Sans/Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Ecto-Body (Undertale), Hugs, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Passive Dreamtale Nightmare Sans (Undertale), Sexual Content, Wet Dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:47:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 13,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25012648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mygalaxyeyes/pseuds/mygalaxyeyes
Summary: A reformed guardian looking for peace. But when you did so many bad things in the last 500 years, its hard to reform.Good thing Nightmare isn't alone.
Relationships: Sans & Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 1545
Kudos: 268





	1. Guilt

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Hints of lewd things.

_**Guilt.** _

Its such an ugly emotion, at least in Nightmare's point of view. Now that he was in his passive form once more. That heavy feeling in his chest— the reminder that _everyone_ hates you for who you once were. That everyone had _suffered_ because of _you_.

 _"I wasn't in control. He was,"_ Nightmare had tried reminding himself so many times. But it didn't change the fact that everyone hated him. The new villagers had came in a month ago, remodeled the old village. It was much like a small town now. 

He and Dream had fixed up the house they'd built centuries ago, and now they lived there. It wasn't too far from the new tree of feelings, but... It felt like he was the only one that lived in it. 

Dream would leave for long periods of time, leaving Nightmare alone. And feeling absolutely horrible. The villagers townspeople always got a kick out of this, seeing him so depressed. 

Dream had wanted to save him— _but for what?_ Just to throw him aside? If this was his punishment for the years Nightmare spent torturing countless people, he got the memo. He was terrible, but he wanted someone to talk to. He didn't want to be alone again.

It was again one of those boring days. The boring days of where there was nothing to do but sit under the tree— and the only things he could do was either daydream or nap.

But recently, his dreams had been... Not so innocent lately. He would wake up sweating, ectobody full formed. His lower parts would be soaked and gushing. And it felt so weird to just squirm in his bed. His soul would start thumping if he thought of Cross while refusing to take care of himself.

He rubbed the back of his skull, shaking it slightly. He didn't need to remember such lewd dreams or the details of such things.

Stars.

He leaned his head against the tree bark, his knees threatening to shake. His soul started to race a bit more as he shut his eyes, a lavender purple blush forming on his cheekbones. 

_Shit._ Well, he wasn't about to leave the tree until it got really dark out. And it was just starting to cool out— so it was probably only around five or six in the early evening. Which left him awhile until it actually got dark out. 

Which means he'd be fucking squirming in his pants, because he refused to touch himself. 

He sighed, shutting his eyes. He was a little exhausted, as he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. But that little exhaustion seemed to be enough to let him go to sleep.

"I fucking hate you." The snarl that came after his words startled the former king of negativity. He had never seen his brother like this, that it scared him. He took a step back, lavender purple tears pooling at his sockets. 

"Dr-dream." His brother's name seemed so foreign on his tongue as tears rolled down his face. What had he done wrong? He didn't understand. That's when he felt the stinging pain on his cheekbone— and his eyelights went out as realization set in.

_**Dream had struck him across the face.** _

"Quit your useless crying. You don't fucking deserve it. Stars— did you _honestly_ think that things would just return to normal after I saved your worthless life? After you hurt so many people?" Nightmare was frozen, eyelights coming back and widening as Dream took a step forward, getting closer and closer.

"Did you honestly think that I would _love_ you like the brother I once knew before you ate those apples, after what you did?" The creepy smile on his brother's face scared him. He wanted to take a step back, but he couldn't seem to get himself to move.

"I hate you. I really should have killed you when I had the chance."

Nightmare woke up in tears, his eyelights wide in fear. He whimpered before he looked around. It was extremely dark out, ans the town's lights were out as well. It must have been very late. He whimpered, getting to his feet. 

"It was just a nightmare," he whispered to himself. He started to make his way to his and Dream's house, but the nightmare still lingered in his mind. "You know that Dream _**can't**_ hate anyone. And that he would never hurt you. N-not in this form." 

He tried convincing himself as he approached the house, and opened the door. He shut it behind him as he made his way to his room. He took off his clothes, changing into something a bit more comfortable for sleeping: a pair of orchid purple shorts and a white T-shirt.

Then he left his room, and went to his twin's room.

To his surprise, his brother was sleeping in his bed. That made him frown— he missed his brother's arrival, hadn't he? Or had he just got here to sleep? Nightmare shook his skull either way, and carefully climbed in bed with his brother. 

Almost immediately, his brother's eyesockets opened at the movement. Thinking that maybe, there might be an intruder. Instead he was greeted with the form of his twin brother shaking as he cuddled up to him.

"'Mare?" He asked, his voice practically oozing with sleep. Nightmare froze, before he buried his face into his brother's chest. His breathing was quick and heavy, his body racking with sobs.

"Mare." Dream repeated as he slowly rubbed his brother's back. "I had a bad dream," Nightmare shakily breathed out. Trying to explain himself in case Dream was bothered by him in his bed.

Ah. That explained a lot, seeing how Nightmare wasn't the cuddling type. Well he had been, five hundred years ago. But since being free from his corrupt form, he wasn't too big on even Dream touching him. 

Dream could guess why.

"Shh, Nighty..." He tried a different nickname as he attempted to calm his twin. His hand gently grasped Nightmare's shoulder, in an attempt to send positive feelings to calm him down. Nightmare flinched at the contact, but other than that— didn't reject it. He leaned into it a bit. 

"I'm here now, alright?" He held his brother close, rubbing his middle back. 

_"I'm here and nothing will hurt you ever again."_


	2. Two

_Nothing will ever hurt you again, I promise._

The words his brother spoke last night echoed inside his head as he woke up again. In Dream's bed. But Dream himself was gone.

 _Like always,_ the negativity guardian thought as he sat up. He rubbed his sockets, slowly tracing a scar on his wrist with his index finger. He had a lot of scars — none of them being self inflicted, no matter how much hell he went through. 

They were all from the villagers centuries ago. If there was one thing that he didn't regret, it was killing those villagers. 

_They got what they deserved._

Nightmare sighed— getting up, and making Dream's bed. Since he was partially responsible for messing up Dream's sheets, as he moved a lot in his sleep. Then he walked by the door.

He slowly made his way downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing an orange. He saw an apple nearby and cringed— both he and Dream hated apples due to the incident. 

So why the _**hell**_ would Dream buy an apple? 

He carefully peeled the orange, taking it upstairs to his room. He wasn't too sure if Dream was still here, or if he had left. But if he _was_ still here, he'd better get dressed. 

Guilt always filled Dream's eyelights as he stared at Nightmare's scars. If Nightmare let him, Dream would spend almost an hour. Just running his fingers against his twin’s scars, while muttering a countless string of _‘I'm sorry.’_ Sometimes those apologies included the nicknames Dream gave him, others it just included the endearing _'brother'_ mostly in a weak and soft tone.

So Nightmare made it a habit to dress before seeing if Dream was home or not. So he went to his room, and put on his normal clothes, orange in hand. 

The only thing that was new to his wardrobe was a neckerchief that Cross had given him, back when he was still covered in that goop. When he was so full of hate, that he had reprimanded Cross for a "silly" gift.

The neckerchief was a soft lavender purple. In the middle of it was a golden cresent moon. It was beautiful, and it was the only thing that kept him going psycho at times. Too bad it reminded him of how badly he had treated Cross. Reprimanding him until he left the bad Sanses, and joined up with the star Sanses. 

He walked out of the house, wiping at his sockets as he made his way to the tree. Like almost always, his brother was no where to be seen. Nightmare took it as a sign that he was probably off with Ink and Blue— and probably Cross too.

 _Cross..._ Just the thought of the monochrome skeleton made his soul start to race. The way his eyelights had been focused on him and him alone back then, how he'd sometimes call him senpai. How he took time out of his own busy schedule to make sure his allies were alright.

_**Oh come on, do you really think he'd love you? After what you did to him? After what WE did?!** _

Nightmare jumped, looking around. But no one was around. It was early, and the sun had barely risen. But that voice... It sounded much like he did when he had been corrupted.

"Wh-who's there," his timid voice came out before he could properly think about it. That voice scared him— as it came out of seemingly no where.

_**Did you forget about me, runt? After all the FUN we had together!? All the lives we filled with NEGATIVITY.** _

_Oh fuck._ God he hoped this wasn't happening. Not now. He didn't need this right now. "L-leave me alone Corruption," he stammered out. Fear filled his chest, and his soul.

His soul was a little difficult to explain. It was still half corrupted, so Corruption still existed. But only within Nightmare's mind. And that sucked, because he'd sound absolutely fucking crazy if he tried to tell anyone.

_**Oh come on Nova, you know you can't run from it. Don't deny it felt so fucking GOOD to break Cross' spirits. Watch him cry because of YOU. Do you remember the time that YOU punished the brat for running to your brother for comfort?!** _

Nova was Corruption's nickname for Nightmare. But he didn't mention the nickname, like he would do if he was in a sassy mood. Corruption mentioning what he had done to Cross brought back memories. Horrible memories. Memories that he wanted to forget. 

He wanted to forget the fear in Cross' eyelights that day. How he begged for mercy as a tentacle squeezed his soul, threatening to end his life if he wasn't so useful.

"Shut up. Shut up. _Shut up!_ " He almost let out a sob. His right eyelight was glowing turquoise. He wanted this to stop, he didn't want this. He didn't want to remember this. Didn't want to remember how Cross' body had shook with absolute fear and how orchid purple hued tears ran down his face.

_**Give me control then Nova. I'll make it stop, and get you out of this blasted world. Why suffer when you can just close your eyes and give me control for awhile~?** _

"N-no," he whimpered out. "I don't **want** to hurt anyone. I _refuse_ to." He muttered underneath his breath, whimpering again. He heard a deep growl inside his mind, but then he didn't hear anything else. 

Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief, and laid against the tree. His sockets half shutting as he tried relaxing, while finishing his orange. His eyelight returning back to royal purple.

It was already too early for this. And he'd only been awake for maybe an hour. If that.


	3. Three

Nightmare must have fallen asleep, because he opened his eyes to the bitter heat of the afternoon. He groaned, rolling over. His sockets opened halfway as he sat up, and then noticed a portal opened up. He raised a skelebrow, slowly rising to his feet.

 _Who the fuck_ would be visiting this place at this time of the day? It had to be 108°F out, for crying out loud! 

As he approached the portal, it disappeared and a skeleton landed gracefully on the grassy hill. 

Nightmare's eyelights wided at who he saw. 

**Cross.**

He definitely wasn't expecting a visitor. But... What was he doing here...? Thoughts ran through his mind, until Cross' eyelights locked with his own royal purple ones.

Then they trailed down to his neckerchief, and Cross' gaze seemed to soften a bit. "Nightmare?" He asked, as if trying to confirm it. 

"H-hi Cross," he mumbled softly. Cross took another step forward, looking as friendly as ever. Nightmare's eyelights shifted to form two purple question marks.

"You can do that too?" The monochrome skeleton asked, sounding intrigued. Nightmare felt himself blush purple, as he slowly nodded his head.

 _"Amazing,"_ Cross breathed out, and took another step forward. Nightmare took a step back, too nervous. He was too scared that Cross might hate him for what he _did_ , or that Cross might hurt him.

"Nightmare?" 

Cross looked worried, as he gently opened up his arms. Maybe for a hug? Nightmare's eyelights filled with doubt, before he weighed his choices.

In the end, Nightmare ended up running into the oreo's arms. Everything that he'd been keeping in breaking down as he shook in Cross' arms, sobbing almost hysterically. 

Cross' hand rubbed gently against Nightmare's back, but the negativity guardian didn't flinch like he would have anybody else. Rather, he leaned into Cross' embrace as his sobs leveled down to sniffles and his shaking ceased. They were so close— it took everything that Nightmare had to control himself.

"I wanted to visit you," Cross explained. His voice was nothing short of a gentle murmur, his other hand gently stroking Nightmare's skull. "Its been almost a year, and I... I wanted to see you again. But _**stars**_..." 

_Why do you still care for me? Cross, why aren't you scared of me?_

Nightmare never voiced his thoughts, and instead looked up at Cross. "What? Do I look ugly or something," he asked. Almost fearful, but Cross shook his head. "No. Quite the opposite. You look... You look _stunning_..." He trailed off slightly, a smile smiling tugging at his 'lips.' 

"... Senpai," he added on. This made Nightmare blush a bit, as he slowly pulled away from the hug. "You haven't changed one bit," Nightmare murmured. It was half mixed with a giggle.

_**Ew, that's disgusting. Just summon your staff and stab the bitch already.** _

Nightmare decided to ignore Corruption, and instead focus on Cross. Cross' cheekbones had a faded orchid purple blush on them as he adverted his eyelights to the side, before looking back at him. "I wish I could say the same for you Nightmare, I... Almost didn't recognize you. I thought you were Dream for a moment, but I saw the neckerchief that I'd given you... And I remembered Dream was on a mission with Blueberry." 

"Its a beautiful gift," Nightmare started. He found it kind of cute that Cross recognized him by his neckerchief. Then again, he found Cross cute in general. "I _really_ love it and it goes well with my outfit, thank you Cross." 

Cross smiled at him— making Nightmare's soul flutter a bit, before he looked up. And then immediately looked back down. "Fucking hell, the sky's bright." 

"Yeah, the sun usually is." Nightmare drawled out, biting back the urge to roll his eyes at the monochrome skeleton. "Do you want to stay? At least until it gets dark?" He asked, before looking down. "I just... Remembered you saying that you wanted to see the stars. Real stars."

"Pfft, its almost like you're asking me on a date." Cross chuckled, before patting his head. "Sure, I can stay. Sides, multiverse has three skeletons watching its back already. And the 'bad Sanses' aren't exactly doing anything, not since you were defeated. So watching the stars sounds _really_ nice." 

Again, Cross pat Nightmare's head. Nightmare almost hissed and screeched _'don't touch me,'_ at him. Before he realized it was only Cross.

And his oreo wasn't going to hurt him.

"Yeah yeah," he muttered. He walked back to the tree, sitting down and leaning against the bark. It was nice and shady underneath the tree of feelings, which was nice since it was fucking hotter than hell out.

Then he felt something brush against his hand. 

He looked over, to see Cross sitting right by him. The monochrome skeleton's hand on top of his. Nightmare felt himself blush a little bit, before he leaned his head against Cross' chest.

"Tired?" Cross asked, a couple of his fingertips brushing against the back of Nightmare's skull. Nightmare made a soft hum in confirmation.

"Sleep then. I'll wake you if anything important happens." 

Before he fell asleep on Cross, he felt something brush against his forehead. He could have been imagining it, but he swore it was Cross kissing him. 


	4. Four

"You _really_ need to take care of yourself Night," Cross commented. Nightmare looked over at him, before rubbing at his sockets groggily. See, Nightmare had only recently woken up. 

Nightmare only chuckled, because Cross was right. He did need to take care of himself. But he just... Didn't want to. He wanted someone else to take care of him.

He wanted Cross to take care of him. Would Cross even like that...? Taking care him, when he was such a mess? 

_He could spend all day dreaming about Cross taking care of him._

"The stars are finally out," Nightmare murmured as he tilted his head up towards the sky. He heard Cross let out a soft _'pretty,'_ at the sight of the starry night sky. Thank whatever god that existed that Nightmare was good at changing the subject. 

"They're gorgeous," Cross breathed out. Nightmare looked down before looking over at Cross, just in time to catch him staring at him. Their eyelights locking with each other's, before Nightmare took in a soft breath of air. 

_Like you Cross,_ Nightmare thought. But he only nodded his head in agreement. Cross smiled at him, before they both leaned in. Their nose cavities touched, and Cross grinned at him. 

Nightmare blushed. Usually he was scared of anyone's touch— he usually wouldn't even let Dream touch him, but Cross was _different_. Cross had _always_ been different. 

_**Because you're in love with the monochrome idiot, Nova. You know he would never intentionally hurt you— I have a feeling that he knows how fragile you are in this form.** _

He blinked at the sudden echo in his mind. _Thanks Corruption, as I didn't already know that._

Only then did he realized how close he and Cross were. "Cr-cross?" He tried stammering out, blinking. They were _so_ close... 

_**Go for it Nova.** _

Usually, he wouldn't listen to Corruption. He was... Violent, and had terrible moodswings. But hell, if he was encouraging him to kiss Cross— he definitely wasn't going to argue.

He leaned in slowly, his hands shaky as he cupped Cross' face. His hands weren't shaky from fear, but rather nervousness. He was nervous that Cross would push him away. 

But Cross— although he was blushing a deep, orchid purple, didn't look like he was going to. He leaned a bit as well, one his hands gently going to hold Nightmare's shoulder. The gap was almost closed. Just a bit more and...

"Cross! There you are!" 

Quickly, they moved away from each other and looked in the direction of the voice.

Nightmare blinked once he saw Ink. Really?! He grumbled unintelligible something under his breath, goop running down his left eyesocket. Both he and Cross stood up, before Ink walked over to them.

_**In the words of Error: GOD DAMN IT INK!!!** _

It took a lot of effort to stop himself from giggling at Corruption's yelling. It didn't hurt his mind, not anymore. Besides, he was frustrated too. So it was nice to have someone else share his frustration with.

"Heya Cross, been looking for you!" Ink hummed, and then turned to him. One of his eyelights went to form a question mark. 

"Dream...? I thought you were with Blue helping Horror and Killer in Horrortale?" 

Nightmare bit his tongue in order to stop himself from bursting out in laughter. Corruption was already laughing like a hyena, though. Ink thought he was his brother? "O-oh that's right... You wouldn't..." He trailed off, his cheeks still flushed lavender.

"This is _Nightmare,_ Ink. Not Dream." Cross muttered, just loud enough for the other two skeletons to hear him. Ink's eyelights went wide at the news. "Oh, so that's what he looks like in his passive form..." Ink trailed off, awkwardly. 

It was very dark out, but Nightmare could make out the rainbow blush of embarrassment forming on Ink's cheekbones.

Corruption snickered at this. 

"Uh... I think I hear Error calling. Uhm bye!" The other created a portal, before leaping through it.

Nightmare looked up at Cross, who shrugged. "He's just embarrassed. Don't worry about it too much," he muttered. Before he yawned.

"You tired?" Nightmare asked— which sounded stupid after he asked. _Of course he was._ Cross even told him that he stayed up while Nightmare slept.

"Yeah, kinda." Cross yawned. "But I don't want to leave you." He murmured, before smiling tiredly at the shorter skeleton. Nightmare shook his skull, before he dragged Cross to his and Dream's house. 

_I don't want to leave you._

Cross words echoed in his mind as he dragged Cross upstairs and to his room. Cross rubbed at his sockets, before he looked around. "Its not much, but I don't want to force you to sleep on the couch. Its not exactly the _best_ for sleeping."

Nightmare saw a fairly obvious blush start to form on Cross' cheeks as he sat down on his bed. Nightmare sat at his desk, opening one of the notebooks that Dream had gotten him from another universe. 

He heard snoring a couple minutes later, so he turned to look at the bed. Cross was already sleeping. He looked so hot, even when he was sleeping.

_How was that even possible?_

Nightmare shook his head, before he stood up. He covered Cross with his blankets, before gently kissing his temple. He changed into his pajamas— just shorts and another t-shirt, before climbing in bed with Cross. Since he wanted to go to bed too.

"Goodnight Cross."


	5. Five

The sun was creeping in through his window.Nightmare whined, his sockets fluttering open. He rolled to his side— expecting Cross to be there.

But he wasn't.

Nightmare whimpered, sitting up. "Cr-cross?" He asked, his whimpering getting louder and louder as he sat up. He stumbled as he got up— black goop running out of his left socket, and dripping onto his t-shirt as he made his way downstairs.

His whimpers came to a stop as he smelled something good coming from the kitchen. He slowly walked to the kitchen, to see Cross at the stove. He looked to see what Cross was making — and caught sight of him putting pancakes on a large plate. 

He wiped his eyesockets, trying to calm down. "Cr-cross?" He asked softly. Cross turned his head to look at him— and his eyelights went wide.

Nightmare was confused as to why Cross looked like he'd just seen a ghost, before he remembered. His scars...

"Cross?" Nightmare tried again.

"... Senpai? You're covered in..." Cross trailed off, sounding scared. And he felt terrified. Nightmare could feel it. "I know," he murmured softly. "You know, I don't really mind them. They're reminders that I survived. And what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. Right...?" 

He locked eyelights with Cross, and slowly watched as he started to smile. "Right." Cross hummed, before grabbing the plate of pancakes and taking it to the dining room.

Nightmare followed. His eyelights turned to exclamation marks as he saw the set table, with butter and maple syrup. His favorite. 

"Cross, did you do all this...?" He asked, looking over at him as they both took a seat at the table. Cross nodded his head, his eyelights twinkling in pride.

"Anything for my senpai." 

_**My** senpai. _

His soul skipped a beat as Cross put half (three) of the pancake stack on his plate, and the other half (also three) on his own plate. He put butter on the top pancake, before drowning the plate in syrup. 

Then looked over at Cross, who he caught staring at him before quickly looking down at his own plate. 

"Thank you for this Cross." He murmured, cutting his pancakes carefully with a butter knife. The only kind of knife that Dream allowed him to use. 

"Of course. I wanted to do something special for you, to thank you for letting me sleep here last night." 

Then Cross grinned at him, making him choke on his food. His face errupted in a darker shade of lavender purple, his soul thumping rapidly.

"E-eh?! Nightmare, are you alright!?" 

Nightmare wheezed out a soft 'I'm fine Cross,' before he continued eating. Jesus fucking Christ, Cross was _so fucking hot._ Why was he so hot, even when he was just smiling at him?! 

The rest of the time eating breakfast was silent. When they were both finished, Nightmare took all three plates to the kitchen so he could wash them while Cross put the syrup and butter away. 

"So, about last night," Cross finally spoke after putting the two items away. Nightmare scrubbed the dishes in the soapy water, while giving Cross an acknowleding hum. 

"What about last night Cross," he asked. He didn't think much of it— he'd only recently woken up, so he thought he was just talking about after they arrived at the house.

"You were going to kiss me, weren't you?" 

Nightmare choked again, his blush coming back— ever so darkly, as he rinsed the dishes after taking them out. His breath was a little shaky.

And it was just his luck that Corruption was ever so silent. So he was either sleeping, or just deciding to abandon him to this awkward moment.

"Uhm..." Nightmare trailed off, before furrowing his brows. He was trying to remember. Remember if Cross had done anything in the past that had given the implication that he returned Nightmare's feelings for him.

_But he was drawing a blank._

"... Yes." He finally admitted, looking at Cross nervously. His soul felt like it stopped, his teeth chattering in fear. He was so afraid of losing the _one_ person who would _actually_ visit him. And not judge.

"I'm sorry-" Cross started out, but Nightmare just shook his head. He didn't _want_ to hear the rejection. "Don't- just don't." He murmured, pulling the plug to drain the soapy water. A mixture of black goop and lavender purple tears were falling from his sockets. Goop from the left, and lavender from the right.

"No, listen to me Nightmare. Look, its not that I don't return your feelings. I do, I honestly do. I shouldn't. But I do... Its just... I think we should just stay friends for now, and build an actual friendship." 

Nightmare smiled a bit, even if it was weak. The tears kept going, so he refused to turn around and look at Cross. He didn't want Cross to see him like this. Didn't want him to see that half his soul was still corrupted.

Cross' intentions were good. He could tell, but it hurt. He wanted to be so much more than friends. 

He felt so disgusted at his own selfishness. 

"Okay," he murmured softly, wiping his tears away. "If that's what you want." He muttered as he finally turned to look at him. Cross smiled at him— and it took everything Nightmare _had_ to not swoon. 

"I... I'm going to go upstairs to go change." He muttered, before leaving the room. While he did need to change, he also needed to sulk for awhile.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings that this chapter will have some very sexual themes for most of it. Wet dreams & starting of masturbation. With input/help from the goopy boi.

After Cross left, Nightmare hid in his closet, his half goopy and half lavender tears running down his face. The closet was pretty large, actually. He'd set up a pillow fort with several of Dream's blankets and pillows. They smelled like vanilla, much to Nightmare's delight. There was also a scrapbook in this fort, along with several of his books. 

There was also a large stuffed teddy bear that Dust had ~~stolen~~ gotten for him. He grabbed it, hugging it close as he laid his head against one of the larger pillows. His legs curling up as he nuzzled into his little fort.

_**Instead of sulking about him, why don't you go buy yourself some ice cream?** _

Oh, look who was _finally_ up. Nightmare tiredly and weakly rolled his eyes, curling up his legs. "I'm _broke_ ," he muttered softly. There was a deep _**'oh'** _before Corruption was silent. 

Probably thinking things over. 

"I feel selfish." He mutters softly, squeezing the stuffed animal as his sockets fluttered shut. "He even said he returns my feelings, so why...?" Nightmare's voice was shaky as he drifted off slightly. 

_**Cause he wants to be just friends for now, and you want to be more than that. But don't worry about him for now— for now, just sleep Nova. You need to rest.** _

"Sing to me?" He asked quietly. He heard Corruption gag, and then groan. And then at last, he heard Corruption finally agree as he let out a hoarse ' _ **fine.**_ '

_**What kind of song do you want?** _

"Hmm... Surprise me," Nightmare spoke as he snuggled into his little fort. Pulling a blanket over his small body. He yawned.

_**Here we go again... I kinda wanna be more than friends. So take it easy on me, I'm afraid you're never satisfied. Here we go again. We're sick like animals, we play pretend...** _

Corruption continued singing, but Nightmare fell asleep. One might have thought Corruption was evil, but Nightmare knew that he cared about him.

After all, Nightmare was _his_ softie. He was a fragile doll, and Corruption wanted to make sure that he ended up with the right person.

_Nightmare's sockets half lidded open, squirming against Cross. Squirming against Cross's fingers as his ecto clit soaked them. Weak little whimpers of pleasure as Cross nibbled on his neck._

_"Cross," he whined out. His hands_ _gripping at Cross' shoulder as the other pushed his fingers in and out of him. He started crying out— loudly, as Cross' fingers brushed against a certain spot._

Nightmare woke up with a jolt, panting heavily. He sat up, before whimpering softly. That's when he noticed something, something important: He was soaked, with an ecto clit formed already.

_**Was wondering when you were going to wake up. Are you going to actually take care of yourself this time, or are you going to neglect yourself again?** _

A whine came from Nightmare at the echo of Corruption's voice inside his head. He was sleepy, so he couldn't tell if the question was genuine or mocking. "I don't wanna," he murmured softly. His voice soft, almost sweet.

_**Well I don't want to share your damned sexual frustration, so you're gonna.** _

Nightmare shifted, before rubbing at his eyesockets. "Corruption, I don't..." He murmured, trailing off. 

_**You know, I don't really like that nickname Nova. But we can work on that later. Stop being lazy and just take care of yourself so we can go back to sleep.** _

" _F-fine_ , you win." He finally agreed, biting at his tongue. "But I'm not getting my damned fort dirty." He muttered, getting up. 

He walked out of the closet and into his room. He laid on his bed, before pulling his pants off before unbuttoning his collared shirt. 

All that was left was the white blouse that he wore underneath. He fiddled with the blouse as he unbuttoned it, and slipped it over his head. 

_**Alright... Get your fingers wet now.** _

"You'll guide me through this?" Nightmare asked quietly— almost shyly, before gently putting two of his fingers into his mouth. Sucking and licking at the two fingers in his mouth.

_**Kinda. I'm just stating the obvious here. You're over 500 years old Nova, I'm sure you know how to masturbate. You're naive, not innocent.** _

Nightmare muttered something underneath his breath at that, drool slipping down his chin. A lavender blush forming on his cheekbones and across his naval cavity.

After a couple minutes, he pulled his fingers out of his mouth. Shakily spreading his legs before hesitantly slipping his soaked fingers inside himself.

He whined, moving his fingers in and out slowly. Jesus. Why was this so difficult? Ugh... It was going to be a long night. 

Since he wouldn't let Corruption help him, since that meant he'd have to give up control. And god knows what the hell would happen if he did that.


	7. Seven

"What about Kage," Nightmare suggests. The soft rays of early morning shine through the window as the negativity guardian gets dressed for the day. He feels better than he did last night— regarding his crying incident, and not the wet dream one. He makes sure that he's wearing his neckerchief.

_**Nova, no.** _

"Picky this morning, aren't we?" Nightmare chuckles out softly, hearing his counterpart growl in response. He rolls his eyelights, and opens the large window/door to step out onto the balcony. "What about... Fu? Would that work?" 

_**ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT!** _

The balcony has a nice view. He can see the tree of feelings perfectly from here, and at times, he considers not going to the tree and just staying at home. "Ugh okay, what about... Tsumi?" Nightmare asks with a rather soft tone, stretching his arms out before he brushed his fingers against the cuffs of his purple button up shirt.

_**... Did you seriously just pick the fucking Japanese word for sin for my new name?** _

"Maybe?" Nightmare's voice is filled with nervousness and anxiousness as he leans over the chocolate brown colored railing of the balcony. Its slightly windy today, making Nightmare's clothes move in the wind. Then, there's a fairly large pause that comes from his counterpart.

_**I like it.** _

Nightmare smiles to himself, feeling a bit giddy inside. After all ~~Corruption~~ Tsumi doesn't like very many things. So its nice that he likes his new name. And that means that Nightmare did a good job.

The prince of negativity heads to the tree soon after. Its not like he knows _how_ to cook, so eating breakfast isn't exactly an option. Like Tsumi says _~~most~~_ a lot of the time, he needs to learn how to take care of himself. 

As soon as he gets there, he sees Dream with Cross. Talking with each other. But Dream sees Nightmare, so the conversation slowly comes to a hault, much to Nightmare's dismay and confusion.

Nightmare's eyelights form into two different shapes for once. His left eyelight forms into a heart (at seeing Cross) and the other forms into a question mark. He usually can't do this, but confusion and love are two equally strong emotions at the moment. Battling for dominance, you could say.

"Heya Nighty, right on time!" Dream beams at him, his own golden eyelights formed into stars. Nightmare's soul is thumping from seeing Cross here so soon, but he's still rather confused.

_**Now, lets just hope that Dream doesn't know about those wet little dreams you've been having about Cross.** _

"On time...?" Nightmare asks. It takes everything he has not to blush furiously from Tsumi's comment. Dream however, nods enthusiastically and even jumps in excitement. Oh boy. 

"Yeah! Cross and I were talking earlier. And he told me that you looked really happy when he was hanging out with you yesterday and the day before that! So... I figured, you'd be really, really happy if you got to spend the day with Cross and the other skeletons that were in your gang. So... Ink, Blue and I may have gathered up Killer, Horror, Dust, and Error— and asked them to meet you guys in Outertale." 

Both of Nightmare's eyelights transformed into two exclamation marks. He thought that he couldn't leave Dreamtale. After all, most people feared him. 

"Hold up," Nightmare began. His eyelights locked with his brother's. "I thought I wasn't allowed to go anywhere else in the multiverse." He said it slowly— but his brother just shrugged. "Nightlight, you're about as dangerous in your passive form as a small little cup of water."

_**The nerve of that little bitch-** _

_That little bitch is my brother, asshole. So watch your mouth,_ Nightmare thought, but then looked at his feet. His brother continued speaking, though. "It wouldn't be fair to you if I kept you here brother. You need to be around people and I... Haven't been the best brother, as of lately. So that's why I'm going to stay here, and watch the tree of feelings while you have fun." 

His brother was... Staying here? This made his gaze soften, and his eyelights return to normal. No other shapes, except for these big circles of his. His brother really did care about him.

"So, what do you say senpai? You coming?" 

Nightmare turned his gaze to Cross as soon as he spoke, noticing that the other skeleton was holding out his hand and giving him a warm smile. Nightmare took his hand into his own, and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm coming Cross." He murmured softly. He watched Cross intertwine their fingers together. A portal appeared. Nightmare couldn't tell who summoned it, only the next thing he knew, Cross was dragging him through it.

_Outertale, here they come._


	8. Eight

Nightmare had never been to Outertale before, but now he could tell why Error was so fond of it. It was beautiful, after all. Nightmare stuck close to Cross as they made their way to a cliff where the others were. 

Error was sitting by the edge, his feet dangling over as he stared at the sky. Killer was laying down on the ground, while Dust and Horror stood nearby, talking. 

"Hey guys! We're here!" Cross chirped, gathering their attention. Killer sat up as everyone else— minus Error, looked over. There was a heavy silence as they all stared at Nightmare's small form. 

"I thought you were bringing Nightmare. Who's the little guy," Dust spoke up. In a rather quiet tone. Nightmare glared at him, and then noticed Dust's hand was intertwined with Horror's— the latter of which, was smiling. Not sadistically, but calmly.

_**Wait a minute. Should we be pissed? Or is it shipping time?** _

_Pissed now. Shipping time later,_ Nightmare thought bitterly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cross beat him to it. "Guys, this _is_ Nightmare." Then he felt Cross let go of his hand, much to his dismay.

"Uh... But he's _tiny_ , and Nightmare was taller than _all_ of us." Killer grumbled, looking over at them. Cross was about to speak again, but then Error beat him to it.

"Nightmare has a passive _and_ a corrupt form, you idiots. His passive form is _much_ smaller than his corrupt form." Error turned to glare at them, his brows narrowed at five of them. Horror raised a brow. "And you know this _how_?" 

"Ink talks a lot while fighting me."

Nightmare swore he saw the smallest hints of a yellow blush forming on Error's cheekbones when he mentioned Ink, but maybe he was just imagining it. He shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at Cross before looking to the others. "Error is right, y'know. Not about Ink— I've never fought him before, but.. Uh, he's right. This is my passive form." 

Quietly, Nightmare poked his fingers together. 

"Can I— Can I pick you up?" Killer asked, as if it was the most casual thing in the whole damned multiverse to ask. For a moment, Nightmare's eyelights went out. Then came back as he vigorously shook his head. "Pl-please don't... I don't really like..." 

"He's got what Error has," Cross explained. His voice was a murmur as he stared down at Nightmare. Error looked a little intrigued while looking mostly sympathetic. "Haphephobia?" 

_Was that what it was called?_

Nightmare nodded his head slowly, his hands digging into his pockets. "Sorry," Killer muttered softly. He looked apologetic. "Its okay Killer. You didn't know." Nightmare then smiled a bit at them, and then took a hand out of his pocket. He rubbed at his shoulder. 

Soon enough, they were all gathered in a circle. Even Error was apart of it as they all talked, watched the stars, and drank their milkshakes that Killer had gotten them. The milkshakes from this world was surprisingly good.

Then again, Nightmare had never had a milkshake before.

"Alright! Crushes time!" Dust grinned like a maniac. Error only rolled his eyes. "What is this? A _sleepover_?" He drawled out, glaring at Dust. 

"It can if you want it to be."   
"Lets just get on with it."

Dust grinned once Error agreed to what he'd suggested. "Alright — uhm, Killer you go first!" He looked a little nervous, but Killer only glared at Dust. 

Then a red blush formed on Killer's face as he glanced over to the side. "... I have a crush on Color." He mumbled, almost shyly. The others looked confused, but Nightmare smiled. He knew who Color was, unlike _MOST_ skeletons in the circle. Not naming names or anything.

"Oh Color? From Othertale, right? I think you two would be great together." Nightmare quietly spoke his thoughts, surprising the others who didn't know about Color. Killer however, burst into a deeper shade of red.

_"N-nightmare!"_

Nightmare fell back with laughter, before eventually sitting back up. He grinned at Killer, before the other skeleton sent him a glare. Nightmare sipped his milkshake.

"Alright wise guy. Since you decided it'd be a good idea to give your input, you tell us who you have a crush on." 

_**Shit what are you gonna say? You know how Dust and Killer get with their ships!** _

Without batting a socket, Nightmare answered. "Don't got one. Maybe it'll happen some time in the future, but not right now." He said, hearing Cross mumble a soft _'same for me,'_ knowing Nightmare had just saved their asses from the two shippers trying to set them on a date in the future. 

"Dust! You next!" Cross hummed, giving the hoodie wearing skeleton an innocent looking smile.

"Hah... Well, uhm..." Dust's face errupted in purple. He looked nervous, for some reason. "You see... I kind of... Have eyes on uhm... Blueberry." He finally managed to spit it out, but as soon as he did— a squeal came from Killer.

"I ship it!" 

_**Of course you do Kill, of course you do.** _

Nightmare almost chuckled out loud in response to Tsumi's input. Dust turned to Horror, who gave a long sigh in response. "Guess its my turn to get all mushy," he grumbled out. The others nodded. 

"Lust. I-i like Lust."

Welp. _No one_ was expecting that. They all stared at Horror, before Dust offered an encouraging thumbs up. Horror briefly flipped Dust the bird, before all of them turned to Error. Who in turn glared at them.

"I don't have a crush." Error grumbled as he pulled out his knitting tools. Nightmare raised a brow at this news. But when Ink was mentioned, Nightmare swore he caught Error blushing. 

_**Wanna give it a try?** _

_Oh most definitely Tsumi,_ Nightmare thought back to his counterpart. There was no way he wasn't going to at try to guess who Error's crush was, if he did have one.

"What about Ink? I saw you blushing earlier when you mentioned him." And almost immediately after Nightmare had said that, Error's eyesockets filled errors. 

Well great, he crashed.


	9. Nine

It took a whole twenty minutes for Error to reboot after that little incident. Killer and Dust— the two genocidal maniacs that they were, got bored after Error finished rebooting and started to have a _knife fight_ with each other.

Nightmare had been snoozing on Cross' shoulder, waiting for Error to finish rebooting. Well, after Error rebooted, Cross decided not to wake Nightmare— not wanting him to freak out at the sudden touch.

But the metal against metal clashing against each other easily woke the negativity prince up, startling him. He didn't recognize whose shoulder he was leaning on, so he started freaking out.

_The exact thing that Cross was trying to prevent._

Originally, Nightmare had thought that only his left socket could cry that black goop, but goop was rolling down from both of his sockets now. His eyelights glowed a deep turquoise as his breathing staggered.

_"Nightmare? Can you hear us?"_

He couldn't recognize whose voice that was. He couldn't really place it either, but he nodded. He could definitely hear them. Whoever they were.

His eyelights glowed brightly in the dark as he started coughing, goop splattering on the ground.

"Nightmare!"

Again, a voice called out. It was extremely fuzzy, but it sounded like his Crossy's voice. He squeezed his sockets halfway shut, his mind thumping. What was happening to him...? Where was Tsumi?

His vision cleared a bit when he felt a strong set of hands gripoing his shoulders. He opened his sockets the full amount, a loud whimper exiting his mouth. He was going to scream, but then he relaxed upon realizing that it was only Cross. His tears kept rolling, but he managed to stop coughing.

 _ **"Cr-cross?"** _His voice... It sounded like it did when he had been in his corrupted form. Nightmare sputtered in disbelief, his eyelights locking with Cross'. He noticed it, how Cross' eyelights were wide in full blown shock. 

"Can you come back to us? C'mon, everyone's worried about you Night." He said it so calmly, making Nightmare nod his skull a bit. He wiped at his sockets, the black goop smudging against his royal purple sleeves.

He looked around the circle they had formed, his eyelights widening once he saw everyone's surprised and worried expressions. Even Error looked rather worried. "What even was that...?" Killer muttered, mouth hanging open from shock.

 _"Your faults!"_ Horror half grumbled and half growled his response, knocking both Killer and Dust on their skulls. Both made an _'ouch'_ sound, but it made Nightmare giggle. Error however, looked up at the sky and then back at Nightmare.

"The corruption isn't completely gone, is it?" The question was very much rhetorical, that much Nightmare could tell. The others looked at him with either a worried or concerned expression.

"Senpai...?"

"I don't know what just happened. But Error's right. Half of my soul is still corrupted, but its not as bad as you guys think." He muttered in a brief explanation, before Cross slowly looked over to him. "Do you want to go home?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"... Yes. I want my brother..." Nightmare mumbled, trailing off on his sentence before he shakily scrambled to his feet. Cross stood up after him, an arm slowly going around his upper back to help him stand in case he lost his balance.

"C'mon, lets get you home senpai." Cross muttered as he opened a portal. Nightmare waved goodbye to their friends, before following Cross through the portal.

They seemed to be walking forever. But eventually, they reached Dreamtale. How odd, it usually didn't take this quickly to reach another au, especially when you were coming from Outertale. But maybe, because Cross was in a hurry to get him back to Dream, it made sense.

Never the less, they went through the portal — and arrived at the outside of Dream and Nightmare's house. It was rather dark outside— and barely any lights were on, so Nightmare assumed it was rather late.

"Cross-? Could you... Let go?" His voice came out as meek and soft, a lavender purple blush spreading onto his cheekbones.

Cross quickly complied, blushing a dark orchid purple. "S-sorry," he mumbled. Nightmare giggled. "Its alright. Thank you, for _everything._ Today was really fun, in spite of what happened."

"Are you going to tell Dream what happened tonight?"  
"Should I?"

Their eyelights met in a lock, for the second time that night. "I think you should. I don't think that you should hide this from him. Things will only get worse if you keep everything bottled in."

Nightmare nodded. Cross was right— keeping everything bottled in wasn't the _smartest_ choice. He knew that from experience. And although he knew that Tsumi was a semi-friend, he also knew that Tsumi constantly wanted control. Which was probably why he wasn't talking.

_Dick._

"You're right." He breathed out, causing Cross' eyelights to twinkle. Nightmare smiled, before he kissed Cross cheek as a gesture of gratitude.

_"Goodnight Cross."_


	10. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its short, but I tried. I was trying to get Dream and Nighty's talk out of the way, before I bring in something... That may include multiverse travel.

"Oh! Nighty, you're back!" 

He had tried being quiet about opening the door— but the door was really old. After all, they'd built their house shortly before the first batch of villagers had moved nearby and built their village. So it often creaked when it was opened.

Nightmare nodded, looking at his brother who sat on their couch. It was a faded color— what used to be a beautiful teal, and it had rips all over it. They hadn't replaced it yet, compared to how they had replaced their beds. 

Quietly, he made his way to the couch and sat down next to his twin. "Dreamy...?" He trailed off slightly, fiddling with his thumbs nervously as he scooted closer to his brother. "There's something I need to tell you."

Dream raised a brow, before he turned to fully face Nightmare. "I'm all ears brother." He said, causing Nightmare to quietly giggle at the irony. 

"Okay, first. You have to promise me— promise me you will _**NOT**_ freak out."   
"Nighty, come on. If you're confiding in me, it has to be important. I won't freakout."

_**He's totally gonna freak out.** _

_Quiet Tsumi. Now... How can I explain this without sounding batshit crazy?_ Nightmare wondered, his eyelights flickering around as he took a deep breath.

_**Show him your half corrupted soul? You don't have to mention I'm here, but still. Showing him your half corrupted soul would be a great headstart.** _

Right, okay. He could do that. He could totally do that... 

Nervously, he stared at his brother, who stared back with a patient smile. Despite everything, Nightmare still adored _everything_ that his twin brother did. So, he slowly showed him his soul. The right half was a normal, soft lavender. But the other half was covered in that black, dripping goop.

A horrified gasp came from Dream, before he reached out. 

His finger gently poked the corrupted half of his soul, which in turn, caused Nightmare to let out a pained whine. It hurt... The positivity hurt so much. "Dr-dream, ow!" He whimpered, causing his brother to pull back.

_**Can we stab him? Can we PLEASE stab him!?** _

"I'm so sorry Nighty, I didn't think..." 

Nightmare hid his soul again, before hugging his twin. He figured Dream would need it. After all, he could sense any negative emotion. And being this close to his brother, he could practically taste the guilt. Among other negative emotions that his brother gave off.

His brother radiated positive feelings, while also trying to hide his negative ones. 

He felt Dream hug him back after a moment— while feeling his brother's hesistancy. His brother leaned his head against his shoulder, while Nightmare let out a soft sigh. "Hey... Hey its okay Dream. I'm fine, I'm honestly fine." 

"You've said that a million times before," Dream mumbled softly. His voice soft with distrust. "How do I know you're not lying this time?" 

Well... He kinda had a point there. 

"Because it didn't really hurt. It just kind of stung." There was a clink as their skulls bumped together gently, Nightmare hesitantly grasping his brother's shoulders. "If you _actually_ _wanted_ to hurt me, it would have hurt a lot more. But it didn't."

His brother gave him a small half smile, but he could still feel all of the negativity his twin felt. It made him frown, but he didn't let go of the hug. 

They stayed like that for the longest time, just staying in each other's embrace. There was a thick silence looming over them, but it wasn't an uncomfortable kind of silence. In fact, it was kind of peaceful. 

"Nightmare," Dream asked suddenly. The older twin made a small little hum in acknowledgement to his brother. "Can I sleep with you tonight? I just..." 

He started to try and explain himself, but Nightmare cut him off. "Only if you _promise_ to try and not freak out at my scars. You know, like you usually do." 

At this, Dream let out a nervous sounding chuckle. "I promise I'll try brother."

"Then lets go get ready for bed."


	11. Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before you start reading—  
> A little self promo. My Wings AU series is out with the first book— and its got 5 chapters out. It shifts point of view a lot, but there's a lot of ships I plan on adding in, and its focused mainly on angels, fallen angels, and devils.

A couple of weeks passed since that night.

Nightmare mainly stayed with either Dream in Dreamtale, or Cross— whether they decided to meet up, or Cross decided to pay both brothers a visit. Most of the time, they met up— because they'd gotten... Closer, with each other. 

They'd usually hang out some place isolated, talk with each other. Talk being a fancy world for flirting with each other. But... Sometimes, it got more... _Heated_. He'd get pushed against the wall as they _talked_ , and Cross' hands would start exploring his body. 

This was to Tsumi's dismay. 

_**One of you has got to make a move on the other, I'm sick and tired of you guys just feeling each other up, and flirting— and eyefucking each other! I can fucking hear the sexual tension you two have with each other. And I don't have fucking ears.** _

Tsumi was... Particularly loud and fairly vocal today with his thoughts. Which didn't help, like _at all._ Nightmare rubbed at his skull, waving off the concerned look that Dream gave him.

"Are you okay Nighty?" 

Nightmare hummed, turning the page of the book he was reading. "Never better brother." He answered, his tone soft and gentle. 

That's when he noticed something — something falling from a portal near where the woods were. Nightmare glanced over at Dream, who was already starting to stand up.

 _ **Ah yes, lets go explore something that might be dangerous and put our life in danger— all for the sake of adventure,** _Tsumi put in his input while Nightmare stood up. Internally, Nightmare rolled his eyes at Tsumi's behavior.

_Tsumi, either you behave yourself, or I'm going to start thinking about one of those wet dreams. You know, with Cross pounding into us like there's no tomorrow. Moving his hips just right, hitting that one spot so well. Or maybe one of those wet fantasies were the roles are reversed~? Where Cross is a panting mess, begging for us to touch him...~? Cross calling us senpai as he's coming undone-_

_**Alright, alright! You win Nova, now stop it! You're finally growing back the spine you lost I see. Please just stop.** _

But other than that, Tsumi was dead silent the rest of the long trip there. Thankfully so, because Nightmare was beginning to get a headache. 

Dream looked over at him, and raised a brow. "I thought your face only got that turquoise color when you were in your corrupted form?" He asked, his golden eyelights shifting to form a pair of question marks. 

Oh, so Tsumi was _blushing_. He thought that it was just the overbearing heat of the day getting to him, but no. It was actually Tsumi getting flutered. 

"I don't understand it either." He answered, dragging his feet against the grass until they reached the woods. But he stopped in his tracks, his eyelights almost disappearing. 

Almost laying against one of the trees was a taller version of Dream. He was wincing, and he had a pair of golden wings. They looked different from when he had his tentacles, though. His tentacles had acted more of extra limbs, while tall Dream's wings looked more like magic.

He glanced over at his Dream, to see his eyes sparkling. " _Te **ll** me **we'** re **not**._" His voice split into two different tones, but Dream seem unaffected by this and marched over to the tall Dream.

And then proceeded to drag him back, where their home was located. 

Nightmare let out a long sigh, and then followed his brother and the other Dream that his twin was dragging. "You know, if he tries to attack you if he wakes up because of you dragging him, I'm _going to_ watch." 

"... That sounds pretty fair."


	12. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to BookwyrmFinallyGotAnAccount for fueling my ideas for this fic.

On their way back to the tree, Nightmare discovers that Wing Dream is not the only one who fell from the fucking sky. There's also a version of him, but he's dressed in black and his a purple cape. And he's also got this moon clip clipped onto his clothing.

Needless to say, Nightmare picked the smol bean up and carried him to the tree.

He soon discovers that Winged Dream isn't as nice as his twin is. When he wakes up, he immediately tried to attack him and other sleeping Nightmare. Luckily, Dream stopped him.

And that was when other Nightmare woke up. And now... They were in a screaming match.

"THIS IS WHY MOM DOESN'T FUCKING LOVE YOU!"  
"OUR MOTHER IS DEAD ASSHOLE!"  
"AND I WONDER WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?!"  
"OH I DON'T KNOW DREAM!! WHO CUT DOWN THE TREE AFTER HE ATE ALMOST ALL OF THE APPLES!?"  
"..."

Nightmare glanced over at his own brother, who looked concerned _and_ confused. He could _feel_ his brother's concern and confusion, but he himself was fighting the urge to burst into laughter.

"AT LEAST I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!"  
"ALRIGHT LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH. YOU'RE RIGHT, I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND— CAUSE I'M MARRIED! CROSS ACTUALLY PUT A RING ON IT! AND NO, _YOU_ DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND! CAUSE YOURS LEFT YOU BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T TREAT HIM RIGHT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT!?"  
"... DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT NIGHTMARE-"  
"OH I'M SAYING IT: OUR WALLS ARE THIN AS FUCK, YOU KNOW! AND I'M SURE ERROR FUCKS INK BETTER THAN YOU EVER DID!"

... Okay, nevermind. He was laughing his ass off now. And so was Dream. Hell, even Tsumi was laughing at this! But he and Dream were more giggling like girls at a sleepover, compared to laughing obnoxiously loud. They didn't want the other two to hear them.

 _Wait a minute... Nova? Did... The other you say that Cross put a ring on it...?_ Tsumi's voice broke him out of his laughter. And slowly, but surely, his face erupted in two tones of blush— lavender, and turquoise.

_Holy shit._

And this Nightmare just said that his Error fucked Ink.... Meaning Errink is canon in their multiverse. This was the best day ever.

"You two done yet?" Nightmare finally asked, leaning against the tree. The two versions of him and his brother stopped bitching for a moment, and looked over at them. "... Yeah," the other him sounded out of breath. Probably from his and his brother's screaming match. "Yeah, we're done. Aren't we, _little brother_?"

The tall Dream looked annoyed at that. "... We're the same _fucking_ age, you runt."

Nightmare turned to Dream. "Did we sound like that when we were fighting each other?" He asked, only for his brother to shake his head.

"... It was less shouting at each other, and more fighting." His brother mumbled, before the taller Dream looked at them. And made a face of disgust at his brother.

"Was I always that short...? And weak? And... disgusting?"

He could feel the sadness bubbling up in the air, no doubt from his brother. But he snapped when he saw the golden tears forming in Dream's sockets.

_How dare you._

So almost immediately, he started stomping over towards the angel bastard, and shoved his finger at his chest. His left eyelight glowed a dark turquoise, as a bit of goop trickled from his sockets.

"Listen here asshole! My brother may be short, but he's _**stronger**_ than you could ever dream to be! He fucking saved me, and I swear— if you say anything else bad about **_MY BROTHER_** while you're here, I will make your life a living hell. Understand!?"

The angel boy swallowed thickly, before he nodded his head quickly. The other Nightmare looked like he was suppressing a giggle.

**_.... I'm really proud of you Nova._ **

Oh. This was going to be a very long day...


	13. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I've been more focused on Wings of Renewal & Ascendants of Tomorrow but here you guys go! Chapter 13 is finally out!

Within just a month, Nightmare is beyond fed up with the other version of his brother. The other version of him isn't _so_ bad, he's a little sarcastic and pokes jabs at _his_ brother every opportunity he gets. But he can tell that this Nightmare misses his home.

But that doesn't make angel boy any less annoying.

So that's why, the next time he gets a chance to escape, Nightmare immediately goes to X-Tale to pay Cross a visit. Its still as blank as it was when he first recruited Cross back when he was still corrupted— and yet, Cross still sits there. 

Cross looks as beautiful as ever. There's a soft orchid purple blush decorating his cheekbones. His sockets are shut, but Nightmare can still imagine those beautiful eyelights of his in his mind.

"Cross?" He asks, his voice soft and gentle. He doesn't want to startle his love. 

Cross' sockets open, before he smiles at Nightmare. It sends his soul fluttering through the heavens, to the moon and then back. "Senpai." 

The word rolls off of the oreo's tongue so easily, that it makes Nightmare's soul pound as he sits down across from his crush. "Hey..." He trails off, his cheekbones flushing lavender. 

Cross smiles a different type of smile at him— one of those flirty smiles that he often gives Nightmare whenever the two of them meet up. And then suddenly... Nightmare's underneath Cross, and their pelvic bones are pressing against each other. 

Cross' cold hands are rubbing underneath both of his shirts, and right on his ribs. Nightmare gently grasps the fluff of Cross' hood, as he lets out small little gasps.

But no words of protest come out of the negative guardian's mouth. 

"Cross," came Nightmare's soft, weak whisper. His cheekbones growing a dark shade of lavender as Cross' thumb rubbed against one of his ribs. Was this one of his wet dreams...? God he hoped not. Even if it was, he'd fucking kill whoever woke him up from this. 

Cross' arms wrapped around his waist, before he pulled them closer. "Is this okay?" His breath tickled against Nightmare's face, clouding his mind a bit as he blushed even more than he already was to begin with. "This is fine," he breathed out. The monochrome skeleton leaned down a bit more.

_Cross' mouth connected with his own in a soft, tender kiss._

This was _so_ much better than he thought it would be. He could feel fireworks erupt in his chest as Cross kissed him. 

Nightmare's arms wrapped around Cross' neck, returning the soft kiss, if not a little sloppily. He was inexperienced with this. It was his first kiss, after all.

It wasn't what he was expecting at the moment, but he wasn't exactly turning it down. After all, he had wanted this for years. He had wanted to kiss Cross for years. And now it was finally happening.

They pulled away from each other after what felt like forever. Nightmare nipped on his tongue as he glanced up at Cross. 

Cross sent him a warm smile, before he gently grasped his hand. Then pressed another kiss against Nightmare's temple. "That was the best thing I've ever done so far," Cross mumbled softly, intertwining their fingers together.

"It wasn't bad?"  
"Pfft! No! Of course not senpai! Why do you ask?"

He was silent afterwards, his eyelights adverting away from Cross' gaze. He heard Cross gasp, before he heard him chuckle. "Was that your first kiss Nightmare?" 

He looked over at Cross, to see him smirking. He could feel his cheekbones getting hotter— before he eventually nodded. "Y-yes." 

"Well then..." Cross' fingers gently grasped his chin, and lifted his face upwards. Their eyelights met, before Nightmare's own royal purple ones shifted to form two big hearts. 

"You're _so_ cute Night," Cross purred, before nuzzling into his neck. "I'm glad that we got to be each other's first kiss." 

Nightmare's soul hammered in his chest at that. Somehow the news that he was _Cross'_ first kiss made his soul _soar_ even in more. 

He really did love this skeleton more than anything.


	14. Fourteen

"Shh," the small word came from Cross' mouth as he dragged Nightmare through the streets of a surface au. Nightmare gladly clung to Cross' arm, small little giggles coming from him. He didn't know where they were going, but he was really excited for their first date. A date at nighttime, classic.

Soon they reached their destination — a small little ice cream parlor. But Nightmare didn't let go of his love, not even as they were ordering. He finally let go of him as they sat down together, cuddling into him as they ate their sweets.

 _God he's so perfect,_ he thought as he ate his mint chocolate chip ice cream. He heard Tsumi agree with him, but otherwise, the corrupt half of his soul was silent.

"Is there something on your mind, love?" Cross' voice brought him back into the real world, causing him to blush furiously as he shook his head. "N-no! Why do you ask?"

"Well... Your eyelights are doing that thing... The thing where they become beautiful purple hearts." Cross stated it almost bluntly, causing Nightmare to blush even more. His whole entire face becoming royal purple.

"Were you thinking about me~?" The monochrome skeleton sang. His voice was light, and it had a teasing edge to it.

"Y-yes," Nightmare admitted softly before looking away, trying to bury his blushing face in his neckerchief. Cross wrapped an arm around his waist, before pulling him closer. "Heh. You're so easy to make you flustered.. Its _so_ hot."

Nightmare blushed some more, and then looked up at Cross. He could feel his soul beating quickly, not to mention how flustered he was. "You think its hot?"

"Mhm hmm," he murmured. Their teeth clanked together in a sweet kiss, their respective flavored ice cream dancing on their breaths. They pulled away as quickly as they kissed, looking away from each other.

"This is nice," Nightmare murmured softly, continuing to eat his ice cream. He heard Cross hum softly in agreement. Then it was a silent for a couple of minutes, as the two finished their ice creams.

"... I feel like the luckiest guy alive right now," Cross quietly admitted to him while they were headed out. Nightmare looked up at him, his arms hugging one of Cross' arms as they walked out of the ice cream parlor.

"How do you figure?" Nightmare asked— they were walking to the love hotel. Since they wanted to be alone for awhile, they'd gotten a hotel room for three days and three nights.

Dream could deal with Justice and Moon (the nicknames Night had given them) by himself — he'd said so himself. Though, Moon was always spouting some nonsense, calling it a _meme_. Although he was pretty sure that was a vine. And Justice was... Well, he was himself. Cross merely answered with a quiet, "I get to date you." 

He just hoped that Dreamtale wasn't ruined by the time he got back.   
────────────────────────

The hotel room they were staying in was nice. It was a lot bigger than what his room was— though it wasn't as big as his old room at the castle.

Nightmare got into his pajamas, and then laid down on the bed. By the sound of the shower running, Cross was still in there, causing a little whine to bubble up from his throat.

He wanted cuddles.

Though he _was_ nervous. What if he got a wet dream tonight? Would Cross help him— make him feel _really_ good? Or would he just sleep through it?

Nightmare sighed heavily, and waited for Cross to be done with his shower.


	15. Fifteen

He and Cross go back to Dreamtale after a couple days. Nightmare is limping, a result of being fucked ruthlessly for the last couple of nights. He can barely walk, but Cross looks so proud of himself, especially when Nightmare has to cling to him as he half limps, half walks to the tree.

When they get there, they see something unusual. Dream has Moon in his arms, glaring at Justice. He and Cross share a look of confusion, before walking over to them. They don't seem to notice either of their presence.

"You can't just-" Justice makes an attempt at speaking, but he's cut off.

"Your brother privileges are here by revoked. I have two brothers now. You're an only child," Night hears his brother say. He looks up at Cross, who gives him a tender kiss on his ‘lips’ before they watch the scene unfold in front of them.

 _ **This is more interesting than you getting wrecked by Cross, who I swore was a bottom. Damn I didn't think someone could spend all day getting fucked but you proved me wrong Nova. You're a little whore,**_ he hears Tsumi comment. He ignores it, but his cheekbones go lavender as pride fills his chest. Yeah, he may be a whore, but only for his Crossy. 

Cross deserves to see a side of him no one else can. A more vulnerable side...

Memories of the last couple of nights flash through his mind, making him shiver as his legs tremble. He's glad that he wears long legged pants, otherwise the purple cum rolling down his thighs would be shown to the entire world.

_**Yeah, and you'd be glad to show everyone that you belong to Crossy over here. Wouldn't you? God bless you for having SOME shame, because it wouldn't surprise me if Cross wanted to bend you over and take your pussy for the entire god damn Dreamtale universe to see.** _

Nightmare blushes deeply this time, clinging onto Cross' arm as Justice finally utters some words. He would object, but... Then he'd be lying if he said the thought of Cross taking him in public wasn't hot to him.

"Okay listen here— I don't know who the _fuck_ you think you are, but you cannot just— THAT IS _MY_ BROTHER, YOU ASSHAT!"

 _ **Oh. So the guy with a stick up his ass swears,**_ Nightmare snickers at Tsumi's commentary, looking up at Cross lovingly. But Cross' attention is on the trio aheas of them, making him frown.

"Then start treating him like he's your brother, and not an object to be glued back together when you kick him to the ground." Dream's voice is a cold tone that he's rather unfamiliar with, as he sets Moon down on the ground.

Moon looks completely flustered, and Nightmare hears him let out a whimper when Dream sets him down. He can feel a sense of touch deprivation coming from him.

"Ahem," he clears his throat as he and Cross make their way over. Dream looks delighted that they're finally back, and practically runs over to him and hugs him. Nightmare happily returns the hug, only after letting go of his boyfriend's arm.

"Brother! You're back!"  
"Heh... Of course I am."

He can feel Cross' hand brushes against his lower back, where his bones are most sore. No thanks to said tall oreo.

"How was it?" Dream asks when they part. The cold demeanor he previously had was gone, replaced with his usual happy one. Nightmare shifts uncomfortably, smiling sweetly as he bites back a whimper.

 _Fuck Cross... You could have been a bit more gentle,_ he never voices this thought. "Oh, it was great. Our hotel room was so amazing, and Cross even took me to get ice cream. I really enjoyed it. Cross makes me _so_ happy." 

Dream's smile grows, his eyelights shifting into stars. "Well I'm glad you're happy, brother! Cross sounds like an amazing boyfriend!"

"Oh, I try to be..." Nightmare sees Cross rub the back of his neck, his cheekbones going purple. He smiles at this. There's the Cross he first fell in love with, when he was the literal terror of the multiverse.

"Well... Are you guys hungry? Moon and I made lunch!"  
"Oh... That sounds lovely brother."


	16. Sixteen

They manage to get Moon and Justice to their multiverse. It was nice while it lasted, but the peace and quiet that comes after is really nice.

"Hey Nighty," Dream asks one morning. A couple weeks after Moon and Justice have left. His brother's chin rests on his shoulder, while he reads a book silently. Nightmare grits his teeth — he knows that tone. That's the tone that Dream uses when he wants something.

 _ **He doesn't deserve anything you have to offer,**_ he hears Tsumi snap. And for once, he agrees with him.

"You left for an entire night. Left me wondering if you FINALLY abandoned me. And now you _want_ something from me, without even explaining where you went," Nightmare's voice is cold. Dream removes his chin from his brother's shoulder — Nightmare thinks he hears a whimper. But he ignores it. He must be hearing things

He ignores the strong negative feelings he's getting from his brother. Heartbreak. Sadness. Because why would his happy brother feel those things-?! He can do no wrong!

"Nighty, I-"

 _ **"NO!"**_ Tsumi's voice booms, and Nightmare ends up growling at his brother. "Don't fucking call me that! I fucking hate that nickname, and I hate you! Its always you, you, you! I don't fucking understand why you're giving off negative emotions when no one would ever reject you."

He screamed, on the top of his lungs. Screamed until he was shaking with anger, his eyelights glued to the ground. He makes the mistake of looking up, and he gasps at the sight.

Golden tears flush Dream's usually happy face, his ‘lip’ threatening to quiver. The negative emotions he's giving off makes Nightmare's head spin. But nothing can prepare him next for the words that leave his mouth. "... I guess I shouldn't of saved you from the corruption then, h-huh? I should of just... Let you be. You would be _happier_ with your gang, then you would ever be with me. I don't know why I bothered. No one loves me for me, right? Not even my own brother."

 _Nonono!_ Dream shouldn't be talking like this! He shouldn't- Nightmare's soul hurts from the way his little brother is talking.

"Dream! Brother wait-" He attempts to reach for his brother, but its too late. Dream was already jumping through a portal.

_**Well shit.** _

"Fuck you for influencing me, Tsumi." Its all he can manage to say at the moment. Because he knows he's truly fucked up. He didn't listen to what his brother had to say-! He shouldn't have snapped...

_**You aren't seriously going to try to go find him now, are you Nova? I admit I'm an asshole, but you need to calm down. If you try to find him now, you'll just end up snapping at Dream again. Calm down, and then go find him. Alright?** _

He hates it when Tsumi is right. He wants to rush after Dream, so he can hold him in his arms and tell him that he didn't mean it. He didn't mean any of it! He loves his brother to near death. He's happy that he can have his brother and his gang!

He can't imagine the pain Dream must be in. To deal with the pain of hearing your _own_ brother tell you that he hates you.

"... Alright Tsumi."


	17. Seventeen

_**Are you ready Nova??** _

"Yes. I am," Nightmare mumbles softly. He stands up, and sighs. He shuts his sockets, trying to pinpoint the negativity that belongs to his brother.

Though, that's hard to do when Tsumi is constantly talking.

"Tsumi — I love you dearly and all you little shit, but will you please shut the fuck up while I try to find our brother?" He gets a 'your brother,' in response but otherwise his little roommate is quiet. It was probably because he called Tsumi a little shit. But its not as if he was lying.

_Longing. Heartbreak. Sorrow. Regret._

It was all coming from a seemingly unhabited A.U., one that he didn't even bother to recall. He frowned, gritting his teeth. "I'm coming brother," he mutters softly as he opened up a portal. Without much thinking, he ran through the portal to the unknown A.U., shutting it behind him.

He ran through a forest, his hands balled into fists. His crown bouncing up and down on his smull, yet it didn't fall as he ran through the empty universe looking for his younger twin. He could do this!

He _would_ do this. He'll make it all better...

"H-help m-- mhmph!"

That sounded like his brother — and the voice was very nearby! He ran towards it, hands shaking with worry.

It turned out that this A.U. was not uninhabited afterall. In fact, a melty looking monster had his brother on the floor. His scarf on the ground, but that's not what caught his attention.

This monster had a fucking knife pressed to his brother's throat, and the knife was moving in harsh movements. Like... Carving. How **_dare_** they!?

His entire world was a flash of white for a second. Then the next thing he knew, the monster was nothing but dust, and he held his unconscious twin in his arms, his brother's scarf over his shoulder. "What the hell...?" He muttered, opening a portal back home and rushing through it.

_**You're welcome, by the way.** _

"Tsumi you bitch-" He commented as he made his way into their shared house.

He went into his room, laid his brother on the bed before he worked his magic. His hands glow a soft lavender as he heals the deep cuts on his brother's neck. Its a wonder his brother is still alive, honestly.

Then his brother's sockets flutter open, and he tries moving away. _"Stop that,"_ Nightmare hisses. "I haven't finished healing you yet. Just... Stay still for me Dreamy, please. Please I can't lose you. Not again."

That seems to do the trick, because Dream stops moving. In fact, his sockets flutter shut and Nightmare finally finishes healing his brother. There are some nasty scars left, but ones that can probably be hid by that scarf of his.

"Nighty...?" His brother calls out, making him refocus his attention and glance down at his brother. "Yes Dream?"

"Why did you save me?"

His brother's voice sounds so damn broken. And it hurts even more because he knows that _he_ is the reason for it. He broke his brother to this point. "Because you're my brother, and I love you."

"But you said-"

He puts a finger to his brother's mouth, silencing him. "I know what I said Dream. And I wish I could take it back." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

He climbs in bed with his brother, and pulls him into a hug. "I'm so sorry for saying those awful things to you, but _please_ just know I _never_ want you to die. That's why I saved you." His arms wrap around his brother in a protective manner.

_"Please forgive me little brother..."_


	18. Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its short, but finally, an update

"So... What exactly did you want to talk about, before I... Before I snapped at you...?" He sure to zone Tsumi out, so that the corruption didn't have an effect on his thought process and decision making.

"I.." Dream looks conflicted, looking down at his cup of lavender tea. Its the only thing Nightmare can make, really.

"... Its nothing really," he tries to say. But Nightmare _knows_ when his twin is lying... "Brother. You've never been a very good liar, so please tell me the truth." 

".. I wanted to ask if.." He bit his bottom 'lip,' making Nightmare sigh. Dream proceeds. "I wanted to ask if you knew if what Killer's favorite dessert is," he admits. Nightmare nearly did a double take. While he did know that Color did reject Killer, he didn't think his own brother would be attracted to Killer... Of all people.

"Are you seriously trying to woo him with some dessert?" He asks — Dream quickly shook his skull no. "No! ... Well, not yet. He's still hung up over Color, so.. I want to take it slow... And maybe there's a chance it'll lead to something, but maybe not. I just want to be there for him."

"Apple pie," Nightmare spoke suddenly. It seemed to startle his younger twin, who immediately began to stutter. "Wh-what?"

"His favorite dessert. Its apple pie," he stated it almost bluntly. Dream's eyelights immediately went to stars. "Thank you brother! Uh... Oh _crapbaskets_."

"Just realizing that neither of us can cook?" He mused, taking a sip of his tea. Dream nodded his head a bit. Dream nodded slightly. "... I suppose its time to pull out the old cookbook that Rose gave us." He muttered as he stood up.

Rose was a villager way back then... Who was actually quite nice to him. She ran the village's bakery, and even gave them a couple cookbooks. Apple pie was the only thing he learned how to cook.

He just hoped it stuck.

"Dream! Get a piece of paper and a pen, we need these ingredients from the store!" He began listing of ingredients immediately, snickering a bit internally as he watched Dream scramble to find a pen and paper to copy all of it down.

This was going to be fun.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments. I'll try to answer everyone.


End file.
